1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of display and storage of shoes in a shoe store.
2. Description of the Background Art
Traditional shoe stores generally display only one specimen per design or model of shoe with a selection of sizes and perhaps even colors of a particular model in a stock area accessible to employees only. The customer selects a desired model or models, and the employee departs to the stockroom to search for and retrieve the desired shoes in the proper size and/or color, if available. While such traditional methods of retailing shoes can be successful in avoiding theft of shoes since only one of a pair of shoes is on display, the remaining shoes being in the stockroom, theft of other items typically sold in shoe stores, such as handbags, socks and the like, can take place while the store employee is in the stockroom searching for shoes. Furthermore, a great deal of time is wasted by the employee going back and forth to the stockroom to determine if a particular model is available in the size and/or color desired by a customer.
Discount shoe stores typically employ another method for retailing shoes wherein all the pairs of shoes in stock, or at least all sizes in stock, are on display for self-service by the customer. Such self-serve operations greatly reduce or eliminate the need for stockroom space, and customers can immediately determine if the size and color of shoe desired is available and if the fit is comfortable without the necessity of a store employee's help. Thus, the store employees need only operate cash registers to ring up the purchases selected by the customers, with periodic restocking of shelves. Unfortunately, display of large numbers of complete pairs of shoes increases the risk of shoe theft.
There remains a need in the art for shoe display areas that maximize the use of floor space in displaying shoes, while minimizing the amount of stock area required as well as minimizing the risk of theft.